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Grade 12th passMechanics

What are the conditions for stable unstable and neutral equilibrium in terms of the potential energyU

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10 Years agoGrade 12th pass
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Profile image of Himanshu
ApprovedApproved Tutor Answer10 Years ago
let the potential energy variable be represented by U then the conditions for all the three types of equilibrium is that du/dx shall be zero. for neutral equilibrium d^u/dx^2 is zero for stable equilibrium this is positive and for unstable equilibrium the value of second derivative is negative.